Grade: A
In the world of rock musicals "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" stands alone. Cleaner and leaner than "Hair less cumbersome than "Tommy" and infinitely smarter than "Superstar"or "Dreamcoat." This is a rock musical that rocks and the staging and venue serve to reinforce the effect of a concert where the star has way more information for us than we may want.
The script by John Cameron Mitchell is smart and irreverent and often hysterically funny. Composer and lyricist Stephen Trask turns out a pulsing rock score whose only vestiges of pop music are brief parodies.
Director Michael Donald Edwards has done a tremendous job with both his cast and his concept, as has A. Nelson Ruger, who supervised the production design. Edwards makes the play crackle, there is palpable desperation under the glitter and banter, but hope is never abandoned and the finale is cathartic.
Scenic Designer David Lawrence Meyer has the theater decked out from lobby to stage with graffiti, posters and oversized newspaper pages and the house staff looks as though they were plucked from a midnight showing of "Rocky Horror."
Animations by Steve Rosolio are projected against the upstage wall throughout the production by Valasia Proskinitopolis. The lighting by R. Allen Babcock and sound by Jonathan Herter are impeccable. With the exception of Herter, all are Syracuse University students enlisted by Edwards to give the play an edgier quality, a risk that pays off beautifully, there is a Grunge/Punk sensibility from the moment you walk in the door.
Musical Director S.J. Pickett (who also performs brilliantly as Yitzhak) leads a superior group of musicians in the band and has them at the top of their game. Area musicians Tony Butera, Thomas J. Bushnell, Patrick Finlon and Andrew Walton form a clean, tight backup band for Aaron Berk#'s astounding Hedwig.
Berk is nearly flawless in the title role, an accomplished singer and a gifted comic, he has the audience in thrall from the outset. His emotional roller coaster ride becomes our own and he makes every moment honest and pure. He engenders an empathy in the audience for the humanity of the character, no small feat when the character is an East German with a botched sex-change operation living in a trailer park in Kansas. And Dorothy thought she had problems.
"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" continues through Feb.15 at the Auditorium, 810 E. Genesee St. in Syracuse. The Auditorium is adjacent to Syracuse Stage, 820 E. Genesee St., at the intersection of Irving Avenue. For tickets and information call the box office at 443-3275. Be advised that the play deals frankly with issues of gender and may not be suitable for preteens.
The script by John Cameron Mitchell is smart and irreverent and often hysterically funny. Composer and lyricist Stephen Trask turns out a pulsing rock score whose only vestiges of pop music are brief parodies.
Director Michael Donald Edwards has done a tremendous job with both his cast and his concept, as has A. Nelson Ruger, who supervised the production design. Edwards makes the play crackle, there is palpable desperation under the glitter and banter, but hope is never abandoned and the finale is cathartic.
Scenic Designer David Lawrence Meyer has the theater decked out from lobby to stage with graffiti, posters and oversized newspaper pages and the house staff looks as though they were plucked from a midnight showing of "Rocky Horror."
Animations by Steve Rosolio are projected against the upstage wall throughout the production by Valasia Proskinitopolis. The lighting by R. Allen Babcock and sound by Jonathan Herter are impeccable. With the exception of Herter, all are Syracuse University students enlisted by Edwards to give the play an edgier quality, a risk that pays off beautifully, there is a Grunge/Punk sensibility from the moment you walk in the door.
Musical Director S.J. Pickett (who also performs brilliantly as Yitzhak) leads a superior group of musicians in the band and has them at the top of their game. Area musicians Tony Butera, Thomas J. Bushnell, Patrick Finlon and Andrew Walton form a clean, tight backup band for Aaron Berk#'s astounding Hedwig.
Berk is nearly flawless in the title role, an accomplished singer and a gifted comic, he has the audience in thrall from the outset. His emotional roller coaster ride becomes our own and he makes every moment honest and pure. He engenders an empathy in the audience for the humanity of the character, no small feat when the character is an East German with a botched sex-change operation living in a trailer park in Kansas. And Dorothy thought she had problems.
"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" continues through Feb.15 at the Auditorium, 810 E. Genesee St. in Syracuse. The Auditorium is adjacent to Syracuse Stage, 820 E. Genesee St., at the intersection of Irving Avenue. For tickets and information call the box office at 443-3275. Be advised that the play deals frankly with issues of gender and may not be suitable for preteens.
Citizen
Hot Jobs
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are No comments posted.